A Cork mother is gearing up for a unique challenge to support the hospital which spotted a life-threatening condition in her twin boys.
Ciara Bowe, 44, was just 16 weeks into her pregnancy in 2023 when she was told the identical siblings were at grave risk from twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).
The rare condition, in which one baby receives more nutrients from the placenta than the other, put both little Tadhg and Cathal in serious danger – and could have been fatal if not identified or treated.
The morning after pioneering surgery aimed at correcting the blood and nutrient supply the tots were receiving, Ciara had to undergo a scan.
“It was the longest walk of my life down the corridor for that scan to see if there was one heartbeat, two heartbeats,” said the primary school Principal from Ballincollig.
“But there were two and they could even see signs of improvement.
“Both boys are now thriving, it’s amazing that something so challenging in utero was so life threatening, and had the potential to have such an impact, but we were just blessed it was caught at the early stage.”
While the life-saving surgery was performed at Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital, it was the ante-natal team at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) which initially spotted the danger, giving the boys the best chance of survival.
Now Ciara has embraced a CUH Charity fundraiser throughout May called ‘Walk in Their Shoes’, which asks the public to match the daily steps of healthcare workers to raise critical funds for both the maternity and general hospital in Cork.
She has chosen to match the 13,000-steps-a-day of Zac Dwyer, who works with the charity, and is asking the public to support her month-long fundraiser at: https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11646956
‘OUR BLESSINGS’
Ciara has two other powerful reasons for signing up, following the separate care her sister and father received at CUH – but her fundraising gesture primarily stems from the care her twins received.
She vividly remembers one of her conversations with a consultant – the awful odds of survival and that in many TTTS cases, leaving hospital with one baby, rather than two, is considered the best outcome.
“If it is not spotted, or you go without treatment, the odds are up to 90% that neither baby will make it,” said Ciara.
“When we went to the Rotunda, we were given a 25% chance that the surgery would save both.”
Incredibly, both babies were born perfectly healthy at 34 weeks, Tadhg at 6lb 6oz and the couple’s ‘little warrior baby’ Cathal at 5lb 9.5oz.
Sharing the household with Ciara, their dad Thomas Fitzgibbon and big brother Seamus, four, they turned two last month.
“They’re all chat, they have that beautiful madness of discovering the world, walking and running and also the tears and tantrums.
“In terms of development, they are exactly where they should be, they’re thriving. They are our gifts, our blessings.”
This is Ciara’s second major fundraising effort for CUH and CUMH – in 2024, she raised €36,000 walking 253km around the streets and parks of Cork – the equivalent distance from Leeside to the Rotunda.
*You can support her Walk in Their Shoes fundraiser, supported by Skechers, at www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11646956 or sign up at: www.cuhcharity.ie/walkintheirshoe2026/
